IFCO Donation Helps Meals on Wheels

IFCO Donation Helps Meals on Wheels People Bring More than 100,000 Meals to Food Insecure Families

(Nov. 12, 2015 – Portland, OR.) IFCO, a global provider of Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs), has donated 185 containers to Meals on Wheels People for its Meals 4 Kids program. The containers will allow staff to pack and deliver more than 3,000 meals weekly (100,000+ annually) to low-income, nutritionally at-risk children and families in North and Southeast Portland.

“The RPCs have made a huge impact on our program,” said Meals on Wheels People Executive Director Suzanne Washington. “We had been using cardboard boxes, which were not only smaller, but did not hold up well and could not be washed. The new containers do not conduct heat, making them great for transporting cold and frozen items, they nest well, hold more product and can be washed daily. We are extremely grateful to IFCO for donating the RPCs.”

“IFCO is all about the efficient delivery of food,” said Daniel Walsh, President of IFCO North America. “We are committed to providing solutions that make the communities we serve better places to live. We appreciate the work Meals on Wheels People does and are thrilled to partner with them to help alleviate hunger, particularly with the Meals 4 Kids program. We are equally thrilled that our donation has enabled Meals on Wheels People to run a more sustainable operation by eliminating corrugate boxes from their system.”

Meals on Wheels People serves and delivers 5,000 meals daily to older adults in the greater Portland metropolitan area. In July 2014, the City of Portland awarded the organization a contract as part of the Portland Children’s Levy to provide meals to low-income children and families within Portland city limits. Meals 4 Kids are delivered three days each week by volunteers.

Since 1970, the Meals on Wheels People has provided a nutritional and social lifeline for seniors through 30 meal sites in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties, and Meals on Wheels delivery to homebound seniors. With the help of more than 8,000 volunteers, the nonprofit organization now serves 5,000 meals daily and 1.3 million meals each year. Visit: mealsonwheelspeople.org.